KAMLOOPS THIS WEEK THURSDAY
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JANUARY 26, 2017 | Volume 30 No. 11
WEATHER Cloudy High 2 C Low 1 C
SUN PEAKS SNOW REPORT Mid-mountain: 119 cm Alpine: 153 cm Snow phone: 250-578-7232
TEICHRIEB TO STAND TRIAL
WELCOME TO FIRST BEE CITY OF B.C.
Attempted murder, assault charges
Kamloops seeking designation with Bee City Canada
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$85K in severance pay to former bylaws boss ANDREA KLASSEN STAFF REPORTER andrea@kamloopsthisweek.com
City of Kamloops CAO David Trawin said a severance payout of more than $85,000 to former community safety manager Jon Wilson was necessary to avoid exposing the city to legal challenges. According to an agreement released under Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy legislation, Wilson, who headed up the city’s bylaw department from 2007 until September of last year, received two payouts from the city totalling $85,923 — the equivalent of nine months of salary, plus 10 per cent in lieu of benefits. A three-month severance payment was made in October, with a second payment equivalent to six months of salary made this month. Statutory tax deductions were calculated from the sum. Trawin said the city reached that amount by taking into account Wilson’s nearly 10 years of service, his position and its complexity, as well as the likeliness of his age to impact him gaining new employment. “When we looked at it, to be a manager of bylaws, it’s not exactly like there are jobs growing on trees,” Trawin said. Asked if he felt the payment was reasonable, Trawin said the city sees the severance as protecting it from another legal challenge by a former employee. “What’s happening under labour law is the courts are looking at companies and corporations which offer unjust packages when they’re terminating without cause. They’re awarding packages that are reasonable, but they’re also administering punishments against those companies,” he said. Trawin said the city was able to eliminate one management position from bylaw services by terminating Wilson’s employment, which will save more than $100,000 per year. “Once that $80,000 payout is done, the taxpayer starts to see the savings,” Trawin said. The severance documents don’t make it clear why Wilson was terminated. Six pages of the 18-page package were completely blacked out.
DAVE EAGLES/KTW
Kamloops YMCA-YWCA CEO Colin Reid (left) joins 2016 Peacemaker Medal recipient Charlie Bruce at the North Kamloops Y. The retired school teacher and accomplished athlete is the first recipient directly linked with the Y.
PEACEMAKER MEDAL FOR PACE SETTER DALE BASS STAFF REPORTER dale@kamloopsthisweek.com
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harlie Bruce started his teaching career in Darlington, S.C., in a middle school that was supposed to be integrated. “The way I describe it is that there were two sets of parents there,” Bruce said.
A SHINING EXAMPLE of
“One saw integration as positive for their children and the others didn’t accept it, so they sent their children to private schools.” The year was 1974, two decades after the U.S. Supreme Court ordered integration in schools. Yet the debate raged around Bruce. Forty-two years later, Bruce — born in Asheville, N.C. — was heading back to his roots for a family reunion.
It was the run-up to the Nov. 8 U.S. election and anger and division was palpable. Bruce said the family agreed before the reunion began that they would not talk about politics. This week, Bruce was honoured by the Kamloops YMCA-YWCA with its annual Peacemaker Medal for his work in B.C. and, in particular, in Kamloops. See Y CEO, A4
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